Women and girls' education merely being 'postponed:' claims Taliban

After forcing female students to leave universities and schools, the Taliban has said that they are merely "postponing" their education and not putting a permanent ban on it.

The Taliban has banned girls from attending senior secondary and higher secondary schools. Women have also been prohibited from attending classes in universities. The regime has also banned women from working in government and private offices.

Now, a government spokesperson has said that the Taliban leaders are not "against women's education per se" but want women to "receive education in an environment compliant with our values and rules."

"I would like to make it clear that it is not a permanent ban on women's education, it has been postponed until a conducive environment is created for their education," said government spokesperson Suhail Shaheen.

He did not give any details about when women will be allowed to go back to schools and colleges. Currently, girls are only allowed to attend primary schools until grade 6, according to a report in The Independent.

The Taliban barred girls from attending secondary schools after taking over Afghanistan in August 2021, while the ban on higher education was announced in December last year.

The clarification on the issue from the government came after their decision faced backlash and protests from all quarters.

The United Nations Security Council asked the Taliban to remove the "unjustifiable" ban adding that the move was "a virulent attack on women, their contribution, their freedom, and their voice."

The Taliban is gradually erasing women from public life in Afghanistan. It had also banned women from pursuing education during their rule in the 1990s.

Women face harsh punishment if they violate any of the restrictions imposed by the Taliban. The group had initially claimed that they would adopt a moderate approach this time, but that did not happen.

The Taliban are taking Afghanistan back to the 1990s when women were required to wear an all-encompassing blue burqa. They had no rights whatsoever, and their existence had only one purpose which was to serve their husbands and families. The new edict is the latest in a series of restrictions announced by the Taliban to further control women.

There is no one in the country who can now stand up for women's rights and freedom. There have been some protests against the regime by women's rights activists, but the Taliban government managed to crush them all with threats, intimidation, and punishment.